Above: the Dominican Republic (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Dominican Republic will soon be receiving a $100 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank following its approval this week.

The loan aims to boost health care in the country through “investments designed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of spending in the sector and improving the quality of services aimed at the country’s poorest people,” according to a statement from the IDB.

The financing is part of a credit line for projects that could be augmented to as much as $300 million, the IDB said.

The programme could benefit almost 900,000 people of “modest resources,” or about 29 percent of the poor in the country.

It will focus on primary and preventive care. About 33 percent of ambulatory care in the country is delivered at this level, compared to a World Health Organization recommendation of around 80 percent.

The IDB said the programme was in line with the Dominican Republic’s National Development Plan of 2010-2030, and the country’s Multi-Year Public Sector Plan of 2013-2016.

The loan is for a period of 16.5 years, with a grace period of 14 years.